wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cells

Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cells (WJ-MSCs) are multipotent stem/stromal cells isolated from the gelatinous connective tissue (Wharton’s jelly) of the human umbilical cord. These cells exhibit high proliferative capacity and can differentiate into multiple cell types including osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and myocytes. WJ-MSCs exert their therapeutic effects primarily through paracrine mechanisms—secreting a diverse array of bioactive molecules (the secretome), including cytokines, growth factors, chemokines, and extracellular vesicles such as exosomes and microvesicles. This secretome mediates immunomodulation (e.g., suppression of T cell proliferation via CD276/B7-H3), anti-inflammatory activity, tissue repair/regeneration promotion, anti-fibrotic effects, and angiogenesis. Clinically investigated for regenerative medicine applications—including treatment of spinal cord injury, liver disease/failure, heart disease/injury—as well as immune-mediated diseases like graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), diabetes mellitus type 1/2, cancer adjunct therapy support post-transplantation tolerance induction in organ transplantation settings. WJ-MSCs are considered advantageous over adult MSC sources due to higher proliferation rates and lower immunogenicity[1][2][3][5][6][7].

Other names

wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cellsWJ-MSCsumbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells